Attention ghouls and boys, Arcana is delivering some spooktacular treats for this year’s Halloween!

From A Cat Named Haiku to Zombie Warriors, Arcana has something for everyone. If horror is your thing, may we suggest American Wasteland? Truck driver Cletus McCoy battles a vampire apocalypse on his way home to rescue his Mama. Or how about the dark, mystery known as Gauze? A dark series of events that revolve around those connected to the mysterious serial killer who wraps his head in
medical gauze. If you like your horror a little lighter, bring home some tiki goodness with Koni Waves: The Perfect Wave! Koni Kanawai, an ex-cop in Honolulu, Hawaii, encounters a series of supernatural events that leads her to discover a dark side of her island not seen in the usual tourist spots. Also, relive the days of classic horror cinema with the beautiful usher from beyond the grave, Velvet Rope! Velvet delivers a series of horror shorts in this new collection that will make a killing at the box office!

For the little ones, how about Howard and the Frozen Kingdom? After visiting his father in Arkham Zanitarium, young Howard Lovecraft ignores his father’s warning and uses the legendary Necronomicon to open a portal to a strange frozen world filled with horrifying creatures and grave danger! Or if pets are your thing, check out Arcana’s resident litte devil, the mischevious A Cat
Named Haiku! Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry. Haiku is also a little cat who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. A Cat Named Haiku tells the story of the day in the life of a mischevious little cat.

Arcana Named One of BC’s Top Exporters!

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) have selected Arcana Studio one of BC’s Top 25 exporters by the BC Export Awards.

In its 28th year, the BC Export Awards, Canada’s longest-running export award program, honors BC’s Top 25 exporters for leading the charge in bringing BC and Canada’s expertise to world markets. These awards are vital to increasing public awareness of the importance of exporting and global trade to our provincial economy, our collective future and our standard of living.

Arcana’s outstanding contributions to the international markets will be featured in n upcoming issue of 20/20 Magazine, as part of the BC Export Awards Gala taking place November 19th, 2010.

Shadowflame Industry legend, John Byrne, is lending his artistic talents to the wraparound cover of the new Shadowflame tradepaperback (Diamond Code: SEP10 0773) out this November.

John Byrne rose to fame in the late 70s’ with his lwork with Chris Claremont on the Uncanny X-men. His run would last over 3 years and include the creation of fan favorite character, Kitty Pryde. His 6 year run on the Fantastic Four is considered by many to be a “2nd Golden Age.” In 1986, Byrne helped DC revitalize the Superman franchise with The Man Of Steel series. In the 90s, he launched the popular creator-owned series, John Byrne’s Next Men. He continues to be a presence in the industry with his work on popular licensed properties Angel and Star Trek. Arcana is proud to have him provide the cover for the new Shadowflame collection.

Shadowflame tells the story of officer Tom Wyatt. After his wife, Janice, is murdered he tried to find solace in his own grief and despair. He attempted to end his own life. Instead he found himself transported to a ship orbitting the Earth. The aliens aboard explained that he could not kill himself for he was the last of a chosen line. A family line which possessed the perfect genetic impirint to receive the “gift of power” and become a third holy man of Isht. So after hearing the story of Isht and his family, Tom agreed to take the power. In a painful ceremony he was endowed with powers that set him apart from other men. He was now a superman, capable of vast feats of strength, flight,
telekinetic force bolts, and all the rewards of being a holy man. This gave him not only great powers, but a reason to live. The tradepaperback collects for the first time all four issues of the series which was originally released in 2007.

For more information, please visit: www.arcana.com or if you want to see more about Shadowflame you can visit his fan page on Facebook: htpp://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Shadowflame/119600607608

Enter the Canadian Legion Contest

Canadian Legion Before Melissa Maple became an Intelligence Specialist for the CSIS, she was a teenage pop star! Ever since gaining the ability to control people with her voice, she has become a serious professional. But what if she decided to wear a costume? What if she had become a superhero before spending ten years with the RCMP?

In the style of classic fashion design contests of years past, Arcana Studio and The Canadian Legion want you to design Melissa’s make believe costume! Lucky winners will receive posters, signed comics, and publication of your artwork in a letter’s page of the Canadian Legion comic! The contest runs from October 1st to December 31st, 2010. Winners will be announced on January 14th, 2011.

“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness didn’t have as much as me!” These are the first words spoken by Scrooge in “Scrooge and Santa” the innovative new graphic novel coming December 2010 from Arcana Comics.

Written by Matthew Wilson (Cartoon Networks’s “Krypto the Superdog” and Disney Channel’s “Brandy and Mr. Whiskers”) and illustrated by Josh Kenfield (Barenaked Ladies Storyboard Artist), “Scrooge and Santa” is a revisionist take on the classic Christmas Carol tale.

The idea for the book started when writer Matthew Wilson was home with his family watching Christmas movies. He started to wonder what would happen if ideas from “A Christmas Carol,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th St.” and other Christmas classics were all rolled into one package. What would happen if a rich Scrooge had to become poor like George Bailey and could only save himself if he saved Santa Claus? The ultimate Christmas story was born!

It’s never to early to start your Christmas shopping so be sure to order this comedic adventure story for Christmas fans of all ages. In stores December 2010!

This Halloween we would like to honor, Dr. Ishmael Stone, Philospher, detective, monster-hunter, primes inter pares of a shadowy network of supernatural guardians sworn to shelter the world from the Infernal Orders as our ghoul of the month! Check out the book Aint It Cool News calls, “Part
Doctor Strange, part Ghost Hunters, part Scooby Doo, Philospher Rex is both fun and scary all at once.”

This month, Arcana’s Vice President of Operations, Mark Poulton sits down with Shadowflame creator, Joe Martino!

MP: How would you describe Shadowflame for those unfamiliar with the series?

JM: Shadowflame is a reluctant hero. He was at the end of his rope a month after his wife was murdered due to his ambition. He didn’t chose this role of protector of an entire planet, but he accepts it and it gives him a reason to live. I think all of us have a little hero in us. Sometimes it takes a traumatic event to make us rise above our day to day doldrums and be the person we need to be. Shadowflame is that story. A man that was so down that nothing could make him get up, until he realized he was Earth’s only hope. I think that Shadowflame is like those old Fantastic Four type cosmic stories. We see his origin, have a few heroes meet him, throw a few cool villians in and then BAM! here comes Galactus ready to lay waste to the planet.

MP: How did you come up with idea for the book?

JM: I created Shadowflame when I was 15 years old. At first he was just a character that I created because I wanted to show a man getting engulfed by invisible fire and see his flesh boil. I know, that is a little intense for a 15 year old. He has changed a great deal since then. I was a big DC and Marvel
fan. People have said to me that Shadowflame reminds then of a Marvel hero in a DC world. I take that as a compliment. Shadowflame is definitely a throwback to the heroes I enjoyed as a kid. Late 70′s to 80′s. But with today’s production quality. But again, I just wanted to tell stories like I used to read. Fun and cosmic, yet they make you care about the man behind the mask. He evolved from
different moments in my life and 8 or so years later I decided to make my own comics. I released the original black and white mini-series in 1996 through my own company JGM Comics and issue 4 was picked up by CFD Productions. In 2001 or so, I decided (with the help of Peter Palmiotti) that I wanted to pull a George Lucas and re-envision a few things and redraw parts that I didn’t like in
color. That turned out to be the 4 issue mini-series that Arcana released in 2007 and what is wrapped up in this trade. There is also a title page by Mike Grell and chapter breaks by Andie Tong, Bob Layton, Rudy Nebres, and Paul Ryan.
MP: The new tpb collection features a wraparound cover by John Byrne. What is it lke having such a comic legend draw your character?

JM: My God. Let me tell you. Even after looking at this cover for 2 years (the original is on my wall) I can’t get enough of it. When I was younger, and even today, there wasn’t a John Byrne comic that I didn’t read. I bought everything he did. Even if it was only on the cover. So you can imagine the humbling experience that I had when he said he would do it. I have literally had a dream come true. I mean, this is the guy who inspired me to pick up a pencil, and now he created this amazing piece of art that wraps up my work. Amazing. Truly amazing.

MP: Did John have any feedback on the character?

JM: Well, he’s done 2 commissions of Shadowflame and a full wraparound for the trade. So, I guess he likes the look of the character. But, he didn’t give me a verbal or written confirmation of that.

MP: Are there any new adventures in store for Shadowflame?

JM: Yes. Shadowflame is involved in a few crossovers that will be around in the coming two years. One is the Curse of the Cortes Stone which will be released through Arcana. It is our crossover into the War of the Independents and it stars Shadowflame, the Wraith, and Johnny Saturn. I am also working with the same creative team to put together a Shadowflame/Wraith crossover that is
firmly based in my “JGM Universe” and ties into the Graphic Novel. Shadowflame is a labor of love for me. I have many stories rolling around in my noggin that are just waiting to be developed.

MP: Before we go, would you like to tell us about your upcoming Arcana book, Ripperman?

JM: Compared to Shadowflame, Ripperman is the other end of the spectrum. He is definitelyan anti-hero of sorts. He was created by God and the Devil to rid the world of those who would have otherwise escaped their deserved ends. When I was young there were a few things in my life that made me doubt a lot of what I believed. Ripperman is the realization that the world needs a
killer of killers. A punisher of people who would prey on the weak or down-trodden. The original graphic novel is huge. It has over 130 pages of story. It shows a man who is torn between being good, or giving in to his base instincts to be evil. He was truly born of both demon and angel and he is
constantly at odds with this paradox. So, there is always an internal struggle. But Ripperman is also resentful of both his “parent’s” who he thinks are both petty and use him to get back at each other. It helped bring to light a lot of feelings that I personally was having and I found myself relating to
this character. But then again, I am the writer.

This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 28th, 2010 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.